Ein Gedi

Are we really getting paid to do this?!

During our Dead Sea excursion, we stayed at Kibbutz Ein Gedi. The whole kibbutz experience is a blog post for another time. For now, just know that a kibbutz is a cooperative community that commonly also runs a hotel/ resort on their premises.

Not too bad for location...

As you can see, the term "oasis" is quite fitting for Kibbutz Ein Gedi. It is a tropical garden paradise nestled between rough, steep, desert terrain. The Summer highs can reach 115 F in the shade (no thanks!). I think we were wise to let the summer and high holiday season pass before we tackled this area. The temp was in the low 80's during the day and 60's at night - perfect!

Israel is full of national parks with beautiful hiking trails. The Ein Gedi Nature Reserve was only a couple of miles from the kibbutz, so we took the afternoon to explore it on our second day. Some of the hiking trails out here are pretty intense, but since "intense" and "expert" are not the typical speed of a three and five year old (nor these two 34 year olds) we stick to the "easy" family friendly trails. For this park, that meant walking up through a series of waterfalls until finally reaching King David's Waterfall.

After our bat experience at Nimrod's Fortress (click here if you missed it), I am always careful to get the rundown on the potential wildlife with which we'll be sharing our day. Thankfully, in daylight hours we should only be spotting hyrax (the rock groundhog things) and ibex.

Here's our first sighting:

What? You don't see it?

Maybe this will help:

These little guys were so cute and peaceful. They look like the miniature pony of the deer family. I think they can't get bigger than a few feet tall. Will kept calling to them, like you would a lost kitten or stray dog: "Here ibex. Heeerre ibex, ibex, ibex. Heeeeere little ibex." Didn't work.

As we moved on we had a second sighting:

A group of nuns, w/ habits hiked up to their knees, wading in the cool, fresh water. Now folks, you just don't see stuff like this every day...

Surely they were pondering that eternal question on the mind of every nun,

'How DO you solve a problem like Maria?' [Hum along now]

Supposedly, the water at Ein Gedi is so pure and fresh that you can drink right out of the streams and waterfalls. Lydia and Stewart tried it, but I let my fear of yet another viral/ intestinal/ parasitical infection keep me sipping my pre-packaged, store bought water instead.

Which brand? Oh yes, "Ein Gedi Natural Spring Water."

I'm a dork.

After a beautiful afternoon of exploring, it was time to head back.

Lydia did great!

Will is practically exhausted after all that 'walking' he did.

Shalom y'all.

The Dead Sea

Chillin' at the lowest point on earth...

Last week, we took our last trip before the Fall semester started and headed out to the Dead sea to experience just exactly what water 8X saltier than the ocean really feels like (hint: OK for grownups, completely disagreeable to children). More on that later.

Below is a view from Masada. You can see Jordanian mountains behind the water. It was beautiful seeing the sun burst over the crest at dawn. Elizabeth tells me that not waking two sleeping children before dawn is equally beautiful. & she is correct...

So why is it the called "Dead Sea"? It's 423M below sea level, so any water that drains down there has no way to escape except to evaporate. This leaves the salt, which just accumulates leaving the water so saline that nothing can live there.

Will decided right away that he did not like it.

The bottom is like the inside of a crusty, hardened salt-shaker that has never been cleaned out. Don't even think about going in without foot-protection. Getting cut in this water would really be like pouring salt on your wounds...(Ha).

Floating...

...and standing. Wildly buoyant--painfully salty.

Back at the mud-pit, Lydia exercises her singing voice & gets a surprise...

No, we don't have any idea why there is Superman statue in the background.

Getting ready to rinse off in the hot sulfur springs.

Sun, fun, & mud. This is one of those you -have-to-do-it-just-once kind of things that is totally unique to Israel & Jordan. And, thanks to that famous Dead-Sea mud, our skin looks months younger that it really is! Stand by for more on Kibbutz Ein Gedi & Masada...

Shalom Yall! E & Stew

We're going viral....

...old school.

Sorry for the blogging hiatus, but one of the joys of transversing continents and hemispheres is leaving your immune system behind. When we prepared for our move, there were no vaccinations to take, no special medical precautions, no hazards of a third world country. Even when we in-processed at the Embassy health unit, we were assured there were virtually no risks to our health - clean tap water, uncontaminated fruits and veggies, no epidemics, etc., etc.

What we weren't prepared for was this:

3 rounds of strep throat

4 bouts of the stomach virus

2 fever viruses

3 flu-like viruses

and a myriad of other bizarre symptoms, rashes, and weird medical stuff

Apparently, as other ex-pats have informed us, it takes a solid 4-6 months before your immune system catches up, and so you basically spend those first months catching virus after virus. Thankfully, the embassy health unit and the Herzilya medical center have provided excellent care. Truly excellent.

Oh, and you know what else we weren't prepared for?

This view from our balcony:

Or these as house pests:

So, when we aren't shielding our children's eyes, chasing geckos, or cleaning vomit and taking temperatures, we have time to blog. It's been a little busy lately.

Soon to come:

Don't Mess With the Zohan

The Dead Sea

My Big Fat Jerusalem Wedding

Ein Gedi & Massada

Stay Tuned...Shalom y'all!